Tag - bases

 
Menu
Search
 
April 27, 2024
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

BASES

The U.S. military’s Kawakami Ammunition Depot in Higashihiroshima, Hiroshima Prefecture. High levels of PFAS have been detected in well water around the facility.
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Hiroshima
Apr 15, 2024
U.S.-Japan pact hampers PFAS survey at U.S. facility in Hiroshima
The bilateral Status of Forces Agreement gives exclusive authority to the U.S. forces over the management of their facilities in Japan.
James Schoff, senior director at Sasakawa Peace Foundation USA, speaks in an interview in Washington last week.
JAPAN
Apr 8, 2024
Expert cites need for stronger U.S. military command in Japan
A U.S. expert has stressed the urgent need for strengthening the functions of the U.S. military command in Japan.
A U.S. military Osprey aircraft flies over the Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in the center of the city of Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture, in August 2022.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 30, 2024
Japan designates U.S. bases in Okinawa as security-linked sites
The government has designated 184 sites in 28 of the country's 47 prefectures as critical to national security in the fourth round of such designations.
A U.S. Marine prepares to demonstrate the use of night vision goggles to Ground Self-Defense Force troops at the GSDF's Camp Somagahara in Gunma Prefecture in March 2017.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 25, 2024
U.S. eyes revamped military command in Japan, reports say
The allies are expected to announce the landmark agreement when Prime Minister Fumio Kishida visits the White House next month.
A woman undergoes a blood test in Fuchu, Tokyo, for research on the impact of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Mar 18, 2024
Japan to study health impact of PFAS chemicals amid growing fears
Twelve local assemblies across eight prefectures urged parliament to take action after high concentration levels of PFAS were detected in recent years.
During the last round of negotiations between Washington and Seoul, then-U.S. President Donald Trump requested steep increases in South Korea’s share of defense costs.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Mar 14, 2024
South Korea, U.S. talk cost-sharing as Seoul girds for Trump 2.0
The agreement on an unusually early start of the defense cost-sharing deals reflects unease over a possible return of Donald Trump to the White House.
Veteran peace activist Setsuko Yamazato warns of the gathering “clouds of war” in Chie Mikami’s eight-year chronicle of the militarization of Okinawa.
CULTURE / Film
Mar 14, 2024
‘Clouds of War’: The real story of Okinawa is its people
“Clouds of War” is an unwieldy but heartfelt portrait of citizens fighting back against militarization in Okinawa.
A 2015 protest against the construction of military infrastructure in Okinawa Prefecture. Many residents are also worried about the impact of a Taiwan contingency on their islands.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 4, 2024
Okinawa’s peace movement carves its own path
Many Okinawans worry about a Taiwan contingency and are angered by U.S. base relocation: Grievances that have given impetus to the islands' own diplomacy.
Construction work for the relocation of the U.S. Marines Air Station Futenma is undertaken in the Henoko are of Nago in Okinawa Prefecture in January.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 2, 2024
Top court nixes Okinawa governor's appeal against U.S. base landfill
The decision is likely to be seen as an endorsement for continued work at the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma relocation site in Nago.
Defense Minister Minoru Kihara (left) and Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki hold talks at the Okinawa Prefectural Government office in Naha on Saturday.
JAPAN
Feb 18, 2024
Defense minister meets Okinawa governor over U.S. base transfer
The meeting came over a month after the central government started construction work on a part of the new base for relocation.
The planned return to Japan of a U.S. military port in Naha has been delayed to at least the late 2030s.
JAPAN
Feb 11, 2024
Relocation of Naha military port remains a long way off
The facility sits on land near downtown Naha and Naha Airport, and is drawing attention as a promising development site.
A soldier stands in front of the grave sites of fallen soldiers in Kinmen, Taiwan, on Aug. 23, 2023. Chinese President Xi Jinping has ordered his military to be ready to take Taiwan by 2027, though many analysts see that as an attempt to galvanize his military rather than a timeline for invasion.
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 1, 2024
How Washington is preparing for a Chinese invasion of Taiwan
It is looking at a key vulnerability — military logistics — and is setting up hubs in the Indo-Pacific region to ensure supplies are readily available.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi meets Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki at the Okinawa Prefectural Government building on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 28, 2024
Japanese government to proceed with U.S. base relocation within Okinawa
During the meeting with Hayashi, Tamaki demanded that the central government immediately stop the landfill work related to the Futenma relocation project
American President Joe Biden hugs Brittany Alkonis after giving a State of the Union in February. The wife of jailed U.S. sailor Lt. Ridge Alkonis ran a successful pressure campaign to get her husband released from a Japanese prison into American custody. 
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 24, 2024
Japan owes no apology for U.S. Navy officer’s treatment
The case of Navy Lt. Ridge Alkonis is a divisive one, which both the U.S. and Japanese governments have tried to keep quiet about.
The Defense Ministry in Tokyo is one of the places newly added to the list of locations where the acquisition and use of land in nearby areas is subject to tighter regulations.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 15, 2024
Japan tightens land use rules near six U.S. military facilities
The law encourages scrutiny of land use near designated facilities and the regulation of activities there that could prevent interference of operations in the area.
Construction work is underway on Wednesday in Oura Bay in Okinawa Prefecture, the site of the coastal airfield that will replace Marine Corps Air Station Futenma.
EDITORIALS
Jan 12, 2024
Futenma moves forward, but local concerns must be addressed
Originally planned to have been finished by now, the base project is now anticipated to take over nine years to complete.
Heavy machinery is used to pour in stone material from a work boat into the sea off the coast of Nago, Okinawa Prefecture.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 10, 2024
U.S. base transfer work in Okinawa begins after state OKs by proxy
In an an unprecedented move, the national government overrode the local government's objection and approved a modified landfill plan.
Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki holds a news conference on Wednesday.
JAPAN
Dec 28, 2023
Japanese government overrides Okinawa objection to Henoko work
The approval is "a milestone" for the total transfer of the Futenma air base as early as possible, Defense Minister Minoru Kihara told reporters.
Construction work goes on in the Henoko coastal district of Nago, Okinawa Prefecture, on Monday, with Oura Bay in the foreground.
JAPAN
Dec 27, 2023
Japan to OK base relocation project design change by proxy
The approval of the change application will mark the central government's first-ever proxy execution of a local government administrative task.
A supporter of Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki holds up a sign on Wednesday in front of the Fukuoka District Court's Naha branch saying that the court's ruling — effectively clearing the way for further landfill work to relocate a U.S. base in Okinawa — is "unjust."
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 20, 2023
Court orders Okinawa governor to approve base relocation work
The move by the high court's Naha branch circumvents Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki, who has not approved the plan amid staunch local opposition.
New JAL chief concerned about yen’s ‘excessive’ weakness
Mitsuko Tottori became Japan Airlines’ first female CEO on April 1, having risen through the ranks as a flight attendant and heading the flight attendant and customer experience divisions.
Town to block view of Mount Fuji in response to overtourism
The town government of Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture, decided to set up a 2.5-meter-high screen to prevent tourists from taking pictures of Mount Fuji looming behind a convenience store.
Yen inches closer to intervention point as BOJ meeting starts
The rate of the yen against the U.S. dollar is displayed in the trading room at foreign exchange brokerage Gaitame.com in Tokyo on Thursday.
Princess Aiko makes debut at imperial garden party
Princess Aiko attends an imperial garden party in Tokyo on Tuesday.
'So hot you can't breathe': Extreme heat hits the Philippines
A pedestrian cools himself with a folding hand fan as he waits for a ride along a road in Manila on Wednesday, as extreme heat hit the Philippines.
Tokyo's Koto Ward by-election a race unlike any other
Natsumi Sakai, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan’s candidate and one of four female candidates running in the by-election, touts her experience as a cancer survivor and midwife as having prepared her to tackle issues that women currently face.
Kyotographie's strong 12th edition shines light into the margins
Yassine Alaoui Ismaili, who goes by Yoriyas, turned to photography, shooting motion while in motion himself, after an injury forced him to give up his career as a professional breakdancer.
For amateur sumo, a fresh start offers hope against time-wasting and gamesmanship
Wrestlers prepare for the start of a bout at the 2023 Sumo World Championships in Tokyo. Starting this month, placing one hand on the clay first is no longer allowed.
LDP veteran Nikai's youngest son expected to succeed him in Wakayama
Toshihiro Nikai, former secretary-general of the Liberal Democratic Party, announced in March that he would not run in the next Lower House election to take responsibility for the political funds scandal that rocked his party and his own faction.
New workers name Shohei Ohtani as 'dream boss' for two years running
Shohei Ohtani has been overwhelmingly voted as the “dream boss” for people who started working in April, according to a survey.

Podcast

From easily navigable train stations to the helpfulness of its municipal staff, Tokyo has earned high praise for its commitment to accessibility for disabled travelers.
[Rebroadcast] Japan is doing better on accessibility than you may think

Longform

Later this month, author Shogo Imamura will open Honmaru, a bookstore that allows other businesses to rent its shelves. It's part of a wave of ideas Japanese booksellers are trying to compete with online spaces.
The story isn't over for Japan's bookstores
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Students ‘study abroad’ on island of Suo Oshima
Students ‘study abroad’ on island of Suo Oshima

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER